Brenda Bertus, executive director of the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation, has been elected secretary of the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association. The association, a non-profit organization founded in 1964, works to spur job growth in Louisiana. Bertus and the parish's economic development foundation are longtime members of LIDEA.

Bertus

"We've actively participated in LIDEA and shared in its mission for many years, and I'm honored to now serve as an officer in the organization," Bertus said. "While working locally to attract new businesses and help existing ones grow, we recognize that St. Tammany Parish does not exist in a vacuum; working for the continued improvement of Louisiana's business climate and in cooperation with other economic development leaders and organizations is vital to our continued success."

For more information on the association, visit www.LIDEA.org.

STEDF is the lead economic development organization for St. Tammany Parish, charged with attracting new business and employment opportunities to the parish. For more information, visit www.stedf.org.

"Working with other agencies - private, government and non-profits such as ourselves - is so effective in accomplishing the mission we all share," Bertus said. "We have a tremendous record of success in our 32 years of operation at the STEDF, and increasing our communication and involvement with other parishes and with the state, will have lasting effects on St. Tammany's economy. I look forward to my term as secretary enthusiastically."